How much pitching time?

[sluggers]

You need to keep your DD safe and healthy for the entire summer. If this were the last tournament in August, perhaps things would be different. But, right now, the first tournament of the summer, I don't see the point of.

I would be reluctant to pitch her more than 2 games each day. She could pitch one game Friday, two games Saturday and two games Sunday.

No matter how you do this, your team is going to lose some games with your other pitcher. Life will go on.

You said in an earlier post that she was getting some pain in the upper tricep. The tricep is on the back of the arm. Is this where her pain is?

 

[DaveWI]

The pain is at the top of her tricep where it meets the shoulder. Hasn't had pain there this year yet. But she hasn't pitched a tournament yet just some rec games and about 400 pitches a week in practices. Ray should I limit her to say 500 pitches for the weekend?

 

[Coach JV]

I would be reluctant to pitch her more than 2 games each day. She could pitch one game Friday, two games Saturday and two games Sunday.

No matter how you do this, your team is going to lose some games with your other pitcher. Life will go on.

Well said Sluggers, I see too many crazies that put winning a tournament in front of a pitcher's health.
Its just a June tournament, limit the games and hope for the best. Win or lose, I am willing to bet the girls
will play hard and have a great weekend

 

[chinamigarden]

I'm looking for advice on how many pitches my daughter should throw or how much she should be allowed to push her self in her first(this year) 12u TB tournament. She is in her second year of 12u. The tournament is 4 pools of 3 teams. Two pool games determine the seeding for brackets. The first seed in each bracket gets a buy in the first round. So if they keep winning in the bracket play they could play a total of 6-7 games. One game Friday night, 2-3 games Saturday, 3 on Sunday if they keep winning. The teams in the tournament are all strong to fairly strong teams for this area of Wisconsin. Our second pitcher has hurt her arm and can't play. Our third pitcher can't make it Saturday, we do have two other pitchers on the team but they would be at a much lower level of experience and are on the team for their other attributes. Their pitching speed is much slower and there will be a lot of walks. My daughter has pitched 4 rec games so far this year, 3 innings each. She throws about 350-400 pitches a week for practice. Do we save her during pool play and focus on bracket play, do we pitch her till she gets fatigued then pull her, she's 5'5" 110 lbs and very athletic, she won't honestly tell me she needs to come out. She once pitched a 16 inning game and still looked strong at the end, but was sore the next day mosty her legs and glutes and her finger tips. She sometimes has some minor pain at the top of her tricep after a lot of pitching. Should we just split time with the pitchers we have? It is a travel ball team. She has three weekend tournaments in a row, but our other two pitchers will be available for the two after this weekend.

I don't want to baby her but I don't want her to over do it either. I'd appreciate any advice from this forum. Sorry about the length of this post.

Dave

I'm not sure I see a problem. If I read this right. You will have the #3 pitcher there on Friday and Sunday. Saturday is 2 or maybe 3 games.
Friday either the 1 or the 3 can pitch, on Saturday #1 pitches game 1, game 2 can be split with the other 2 girls, if there is a game 3 and it means something #1 can go again, Sunday you will have both #1 and #3. So day 3 should be business as usual.

 

[DaveWI]

chinamigarden thanks for your reply. Our third pitcher can only make it Friday. I think the advice I'm really looking for is maybe how many pitches should I let my 12 year old throw over the coerce of the weekend and breaking it down to how many each of the 3 days. I know each child is different, but what's your opinion for a girl her age and at this point in the season. Secondly I enjoy reading your thoughts on how to divide those pitches up during the coerce of the tournament for maximum effectiveness. I will monitor her very closely and pull her if I feel she's over doing it. Guess I'm just asking for guidance from those of you who have or have had 12 year olds in similar situations. I would never risk her health for a game, especially at 12U.

 

[joemcq51]

She sometimes has some minor pain at the top of her tricep after a lot of pitching.

Warning sign

My daughter has pitched 4 rec games so far this year, 3 innings each

I would be concerned about her endurance at this stage of the season.

I would never risk her health for a game, especially at 12U

It sounds like you are dead set on playing this entire tournament with one pitcher. Good luck and for your DD's sake, I hope it goes well. Winning a trophy at 12U is definitely not worth an injury.

 

[sluggers]

Ray should I limit her to say 500 pitches for the weekend?

Dave, I'm not a pitch counter. To accurately count pitchers, you would need to track warm-up pitches thrown at 100% effort. Realistically, no one is going to do that.

Suppose you her 100 pitches in game 1, 100 in game 2, 100 in game 3, 100 in game 4, and 100 in game 5. She would probably throw another 500 to 600 pitches warming up. So, it really has no meaning. (In pro baseball, pitchers throw at 100% only during games. But, young softball pitchers throw at 100% during warm ups.)

IMHO, it is better to get her warmed up, let her pitch the entire game. Have her toss (not pitch) the ball under handed after each game for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, sit her down and make her rest for a couple of hours. Give her plenty of time to warm up for the next game. Before the next game, have her first toss the ball underhanded for 10 to 15 minutes to get the shoulder lubed up, and then have her stretch and stretch and stretch some more. Then, have her do her normal warm up. After the last game of the day, do the 5-10 minute underhand cool down, and then ice her shoulder for no more than 20 minutes. (Use saran wrap and ice...while I don't believe icing helps, the cost is $.25, so why take the chance?)

As a little advice--your DD should be able to play pitch and catch underhanded. No crazy windup, no slapping the knee, reaching for the sky, etc...just, take the ball back a little, do a complete circle and toss the ball to someone (anyone) who is standing up, just as if she were playing pitch and catch overhanded.

 

[Sponge]

Hey Ray,

Side question. If you see a chickenwing, tha means she is closing he hips to soon and throwing around her hips??

THanks..

Mike

 

[sluggers]

Sponge, most likely.

Sometimes the pitcher keeps her hips open, and closes her upper body violently, causing the arm to swing out. When a kid gets tired, they start doing all kinds of weird things.

 

[abbygale]

When a kid gets tired, they start doing all kinds of weird things.

This statement should be pinned for all those starting out working with their kids.